There was no moment of triumph this time. Freed from its clinging tormentor, the opal dragon was twisting in the air, slashing and roaring fire at the other beasts tearing at its body. But its movements were clumsy. It was weakening.
And the topaz dragon was weakening too. Its enormous strength had been drained by the terrible struggle with the two-faced beast, drained further by the flight to the Plain of the Rats. All over its golden body, old wounds had begun oozing blood.
The Ak-Baba knew it. They could see the beast’s uneven wingbeats. They could smell the blood.
Shrieking, they abandoned the floundering body of the dragon of the opal, and sped in for the kill. There were only five remaining, but those five were as fresh, as ferocious, as ravenous for blood as they had been at the beginning.
They flew, screeching, through the golden fire and hit the topaz dragon full in the side. It lurched, tilted, lost height, its huge wings beating desperately, its spiked tail lashing. The Ak-Baba pursued it, surrounded it, moved in again.
‘This time, we are lost, I fear,’ growled the topaz dragon thickly. ‘But let us try to take another of them with us.’
And at that moment there was a roar from above them, and the sky seemed to explode in a burning mass of shooting stars. The Ak-Baba scattered, howling in shock. Lief, Barda and Jasmine cowered against the dragon’s scales, coughing in a haze of smoke that stank of singed hair and scorched cloth. And out of the heavens soared the dragon of the lapis-lazuli, wings spangled with stars, starry fire belching from its snarling jaws.
The Ak-Baba wheeled in the air, turning to face it, snake-like necks stretching, beaks gaping wide as they howled in fury. Then suddenly, one was gone, snatched out of the air. There was a sickening crack as its neck broke between vast red jaws.
And as its lifeless body was tossed aside, as the ruby dragon bellowed its triumph and the remaining Ak-Baba shrieked and howled defiance, a ball of emerald fire roared through the smoke haze.
Three of the shrieking beasts dived. The fourth was too slow. The fire ball struck. The feathers of its wings burst into flames and it plummeted to the ground, trailing a plume of fire.
Now only three Ak-Baba remained. Through the smoke and fire they could see five vast, glittering shapes, five snarling sets of fangs, five lashing tails. They shrieked defiantly, hovering, weighing the odds.
But when there was yet another roar, and a gush of purple flame lit the sky in the west, they twisted in the air and fled.
And the dragons did not follow. For by the light of the great, golden moon they could see the grey tide below. They could see it spreading before their eyes. They could feel its deadening chill. They knew what they must do.
20 - Full Circle
Speechless, Lief, Barda and Jasmine clung to the topaz dragon as it flew to take its place in the circle of dragons surrounding the grey sea. They watched in wonder as the dragons dropped lower, lower and hovered.
Then, without a word or signal, the dragons roared.
Flame gushed from their jaws. Flame of green, gold and scarlet. Flame of purple and silver-white. Blue flame filled with stars, and flame that burned with all the colours of the rainbow.
… the Enemy fears dragons, it seems. Even two are too many for him …
And what of six? Lief thought. Then he changed the number to seven, for he saw the baby diamond dragon gravely hovering beside Veritas, adding her own small, silver-white flame to the fire.
The edges of the grey tide scorched and blackened, and when the circle was bounded by a broad black band, the dragons began moving slowly, patiently inward. Whenever they breathed, they breathed fire, and wherever the fire fell, the grey burned and died. And no dragon moved on while any patch of grey remained.
On and on the dragons moved, their circle tightening, as the great moon rose and paled and stars filled the blackness of the sky.
Gradually the grey inside the circle grew less, and the black band outside it grew broader. By the time Steven’s caravan pulled to a halt on the bank of the clogged River Broad, the people who tumbled out to stare in wonder could see more black than grey.
And at last the dragons were so close together that the tips of their wings were touching. Together they roared, and the colours of their fires mingled in a rainbow blaze. And when that last, great fire had died, nothing remained of the Shadow Lord’s terror but a vast circle of blackened ash.
In the centre of the dark circle the dragons hovered, as if unwilling to end the moment. Diamond, emerald, lapis-lazuli, topaz, opal, ruby and amethyst, they joined to relish their triumph, grieve for what had been lost, and look to the future.
And all who looked upon that scene were swept by a great wave of joy and wonder. For they saw that the shining wings of the dragons were like the gems of the Belt of Deltora, blazing in the sky.
And so it was that the last plan of the Shadow Lord was undone by the will of Deltora’s last dragons, and the kingdom of Deltora was safe.
In years to come, the story would become a legend. The night called Dragon Night would be Deltora’s greatest festival of the year, celebrated with feasts, dancing, games, and circles of fireworks from across the silver sea. Children dressed as Lief, Barda and Jasmine would ride dragons made of painted wood and shining cloth, and at midnight a great bonfire would be lit in every town and village in the land, and Deltora would ring with cheers.
But the people who witnessed that first Dragon Night from the other side of the River Broad were too awe-struck to cheer. As it happened, or perhaps because fate had decreed it, every one of Deltora’s seven dragon territories was represented among them. For Steven had said that Zerry of the Mere must have his place in the caravan, and Zerry, his eyes dark with wonder, was standing with the rest, for once lost for words.
Lief himself could do no more than silently give thanks. But when at last the dragons settled to the earth, onto the blackened circle they had made, he felt their unblinking eyes upon him and knew he had to speak. And he knew what he had to say.
‘My name is Lief,’ he said, and bowed his head. ‘Forgive me for using the names that Dragonfriend carried in his heart. I did it for the sake of our land, and his.’
The dragons considered. Then they all bowed in reply, even the emerald dragon of honour, if rather stiffly.
‘It is not so easy, however,’ it said. ‘You called us all at the same time. Now we know each other’s true names, as well as yours, for any fool could guess which dragon name is which. This is an evil that cannot be undone.’
Lief swallowed. ‘It cannot be undone,’ he said. ‘But perhaps it is not an evil.’
The emerald dragon snorted. ‘To know a being’s true name is to give power over that being,’ it said.
‘Then we all have power over one another,’ said the dragon of the lapis-lazuli pertly. ‘And I, for one, have no intention of risking your revenge—Honora.’
The emerald dragon bared its teeth. ‘Very wise—Fortuna,’ it hissed, but said no more.
‘What is my name?’ squeaked the little diamond dragon.
‘Your name is Forta,’ said Veritas. ‘Forta—after your mother.’
At dawn, three dragons flew into Del—golden Fidelis, scarlet Joyeu, and Fortuna, the dragon of the lapis-lazuli.
Fidelis carried Lief, Barda and Jasmine. Joyeu carried Doom, Lindal and Manus. Fortuna carried Gla-Thon, Ranesh and Gers. Gers, his broad face pale as paper, was seen to kiss the ground when the ride was over, but swore till his dying day that he had merely stumbled.
Though it was so early, and though few in Del had any idea of the peril their land had just escaped, the city was alive with rejoicing people. Most had been awake all night.